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Meanwhile, Downing Street said more than 2,000 NHS staff have been tested for coronavirus, amid intense scrutiny over the government’s policy on testing.

Only around 8,000 tests per day are currently being carried out in the UK, even though ministers previously claimed a target of 10,000 tests per day had been hit.

At present, the focus has been on testing patients in hospital to see if they have coronavirus, with NHS trusts told earlier in the week they should use up to 15% of any spare testing capacity for NHS staff.

Health secretary Matt Hancock has now scrapped that cap, telling NHS hospital labs to use all spare capacity to test their frontline workers.

The government has blamed a global lack of reagents needed to carry out tests, though the chemical industry in the UK suggested there were no shortages.

Jenrick told Radio 4’s Today programme testing capacity should hit 15,000 in the next few days.

The minister said he expects there to be 25,000 tests per day by the “middle of April”.